Trump's America First doctrine on Ukraine

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After Tuesday's four-and-a-half-hour meeting in Saudi Arabia, the U.S. and Russia agreed to work on a peace settlement for Ukraine.

As a departure from the Biden administration's previous efforts to isolate the Kremlin, the U.S. and Russia, while also pledging to re-establish the functionality of their respective missions in Washington and Moscow, are moving to reset their relationship.

Both sides agreed that the U.S. would explore the "incredible opportunities that exist to partner with the Russians" both geopolitically and economically, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said.

Rubio's position, unsurprisingly, was met with a positive response from the Russian side. "We weren't just listening to each other, but we heard each other," Russian Foreign Minister Sergey V. Lavrov said, adding that "I have reason to believe that the American side started to better understand our positions."

Regardless of how the talks affect the Ukraine conflict, one thing is clear. The striking display of Washington-Moscow bonhomie signals that U.S. President Donald Trump is rolling back his predecessor's anti-Russia approach and abandoning Western efforts of isolating the Kremlin from the international mainstream.

When asked for his message to Ukraine, which was not even invited to the talks, Trump was blunt, blaming Ukraine. "You should have never started it. You could have made a deal."

Since the outbreak of the conflict, European allies have been counting on the U.S. for "shared security." But Trump's message is loud and clear: betrayal.

Tensions between the U.S. and its European allies were already high before the Moscow-Washington conference kicked off. Earlier, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth made it clear that Ukraine's objectives of joining NATO and restoring lost territory were "not realistic."

In his unorthodox speech made at the Munich Security Conference last week, U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance urged Europe to "step up in a big way to provide for its own defense" and declared that the threat was not Russia, China, or any other external actor, but a "threat from within."

These remarks have laid it bare that to Europe, the U.S. is not a reliable ally that it had hoped.

"Europe can no longer fully rely on the United States to defend our shared values and interests, including continued support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity," read a joint statement from the European People's Party, Socialists and Democrats, Renew, and Greens. It added, "We must face this new reality and double down on our joint European effort in defense of Ukraine and European security as a whole by establishing a credible and strong deterrence against any aggression."

For the Trump administration, concrete benefits take precedence over the so-called alliance. Facing a slew of domestic challenges, including inflation, unemployment and immigration issues, Trump has, on several occasions, expressed his eagerness to end the conflict in Ukraine. To this end, the businessman-turned-politician stands ready to sacrifice European allies. 

In addition, Russia, according to The New York Times, appeared to "cater to Trump's interest in profits and natural resources." Compared to so-called shared values and security with European allies, concrete benefits are more attractive to the Trump administration.

While how the Moscow-Washington talks will shape the future of the Ukraine conflict is still a wait-and-see, the Trump administration's position on the Ukraine issue is increasingly clear: American First. For Trump, there are no permanent friends, or foes, only permanent interests.

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